2020, what a year. The pandemic halted sports for a bit but protocols were put in place shortly after to ensure sports fans get to enjoy their favourite sports.
I want to share with you my top 20 sporting moments of 2020, starting from number 20. It was hard writing out the number 1 position because of the rivalry between the team and my beloved Manchester United, but I had to for objectivity sake.
20. Aston Villa beat the drop: in what could be described as a long season, Aston Villa were able to avoid relegation on the final day of the 2019/20 season. Bournemouth, Watford and Norwich City were the relegated teams.
19. Serbian born Novak Djokovic’s 8th Australian Open success. He defeated Dominic Thiem of Austria to claim his 17th Grand Slam crown overall.
18. Israel Adesanya’s victory over fellow undefeated UFC 253 fighter, Paulo Costa. It was the first fight between two undefeated mixed martial artists since 2009. Adesanya won the bout via Technical Knockout in the 2nd round.
17. Rafael Nadal showed why he was called the King of Clay by annihilating World number one Novak Djokovic in the French Open final in straight sets. It was Nadal’s 13th French Open Crown and his 20th Grand Slam, going level with Roger Federer with regard to Grand Slam success.
16. Mike Tyson Vs Roy Jones Junior exhibition fight in November. A good one seeing boxing legends return to the ring. The fight was adjudged to be a draw but Mike Tyson won if you asked me
15. Naomi Osaka (U.S.A) pipping Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) to the women’s U.S Open crown
14. Austrian born Dominic Thiem pipped Alexander Zverev in the U.S Open final to claim his first ever Grand Slam
13. Iga Swiatek of Poland won the French Open in the women’s category beating U.S.A’s Sofia Kenin. It was also her maiden Grand Slam win
12. U.S.A’s Sofia Kenin won her maiden Grand Slam (Australian Open) by beating two time Grand Slam winner (French Open, 2016 and Wimbledon, 2017) Garbine Muguruza of Spain.
11. AJ retain belts: Anthony Joshua beat fellow heavyweight pugilist Kubrat Pulev, winning the fight with a ninth round Technical Knockout. AJ recorded 4 knock downs against Pulev to retain his WBA, IBF, WBO, and IBO titles.
10. Bruno Fernandes: Manchester United signed the talismanic Portuguese midfielder in January, 200 which brought them back to reckoning domestically. His goals and assists have given the Red Devils a lift and personally he was named the Premier League’s player of the month 4 times (February, May November and December) in 2020.
9. Euro 2020 qualification: North Macedonia and Scotland qualified for Euro 2020. It was North Macedonia’s first ever qualification for a major tournament while Scotland were qualifying for a major tourney for the first time since 1998 where they played at the France 1998 World Cup.
8. LA Dodgers win World Series: the Los Angeles Dodgers won their first Major League Baseball (MLB) World Series since 1988.
7. Bayern’s treble winning season: In November, 2019 Bayern Munich coach Niko Kovac who was a former player was sacked and he was replaced by his assistant Hans-Dieter Flick on temporary basis. In April, 2020 Flick was offered a 3 year contract. Flick went on to win the German Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal Cup and the UEFA Champions League to claim an unprecedented treble for the Bavarians in 2020.
6. Bundesliga lead restart of European football leagues: The German Bundesliga led the restart of the European League after sports all over the globe was shut down in March, 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Bundesliga resumed on the 16th of May, 2020 then other leagues followed suit weeks later.
5. Tyson Fury’s triumph over Deontay Wilder: British born Tyson “Gyspy King” Fury pummeled Deontay “The Bronze Bomber” Wilder in the second of their heavyweight boxing trilogy bouts in February, 2020. It was in the 7th round Wilder’s camp threw in the towel. The first fight controversially ended in a draw 14 months earlier, for me Fury won the first bout. Fury now owns the World Boxing Council (WBC) belt and we expect a Fury versus AJ match up soon.
4. Taking the Knee: Players taking the knee before English Premier League games was highly commended. This is in a bid to kick out RACISM.
3. Sir Lewis Hamilton’s 7th title: It was a great year for British born Lewis Hamilton. He equalled Michael Schumacher’s record of 7 titles and doesn’t look like he is slowing down anytime soon. Hamilton eclipsed Schumacher’s podium wins by first beating the record of 91 set by the German and eventually hitting the 95 win mark.
2. LA Lakers’ NBA triumph: The Los Angeles Lakers had not won the National Basketball Association (NBA) title in 10 years. The eventually won it beating the Miami Heat 4-2 in the final series. This was some sort of tribute to former Lakers legend Kobe Bryant who along with his daughter and some other people lost their lives in a helicopter crash in January, 2020.
- Liverpool’s title win: One of Europe’s most successful football teams ended their 30 year wait for a League Title. It was well deserved as they finished 18 points ahead of 2nd placed Manchester City and 33 points more than 3rd and 4th placed Manchester United and Chelsea respectively.
There you have it. Feel free to criticize this list.
Tomorrow is another day. CHEERS!!!
